Unaccompanied Minors Travelling to the Philippines

As a rule, non-Filipino minors who are under 15 years of age and unaccompanied by or not joining a parent in the Philippines, are generally excluded from entering Philippine ports of entry. This includes children who arrive individually or in groups. However:

I. To avoid exclusion before arrival at Philippine ports:

• The minor’s guardian or legal representative shall, at least 72 hours before arrival, notify the Commissioner of Immigration in writing of an intent to travel to the Philippines.
• The letter of intent shall include a request for the minor’s waiver of exclusion and the relinquishment of exclusion fees. Copies of the minor’s valid passport, visa (if required), return ticket and invitation for a parent or sponsoring entity shall also be attached.
• Finding merit in the request, the Commissioner of Immigration shall issue an Order that waives the minor’s exclusion. The Order may also waive the exclusion fees; otherwise, a waiver fee of PHP 3,120 shall be imposed. The minor’s guardian or legal representative shall be given copies of this Order.
• The Commissioner of Immigration shall send a copy of the Order to the Immigration Duty Supervisor (IDS) at the port of entry. This Order shall waive the minor’s exclusion and, if allowed, also the fees’ waiver.

II. To avoid the exclusion of minors who, without prior notice to the Commissioner of Immigration, arrive at Philippine ports:

• The minor’s guardian or legal representative presents copies of the minor’s passport and attaches these to filled out Waiver of Exclusion (WE) forms obtained from the IDS.
• After determining that the filled-out WE forms are in order, the IDS shall note “Approved for Payment” and direct the minor’s guardian or legal representative to pay PHP 3,120 waiver fee for each unaccompanied minor. Payment shall be made to an authorized cashier at the port of entry. The cashier shall retain a copy of the WE forms.
• After payment, the minor’s guardian or legal representative shall present WE forms’ official receipt of payment to the IDS. (The IDS shall note the serial number of the official receipt and the total number of minors covered by the receipt.)
• The IDS shall then direct an Immigration Officer (IO) to admit the minor, after noting the official receipt’s serial number below the admission stamp and cancelling the receipts.
• The IO detaches the copy of the WE forms and retains a copy of the minor’s passport, for the Bureau of Immigration’s database.

*Per Bureau of Immigration Memorandum Order No. RPL-10-013